Electricity generation and battery technologies are important and attract wide interest from the scientific field. Most power production technologies require consumption of fossil fuel or natural gas; the common marketed batteries contain chemicals that need to be recycled due to toxicity concern or are un-renewable. Hence, alternative clean energy is more desirable in the long term. This patent describes the utilization of some biological and photochemical reactions in water for electricity generation.
Fenton reaction typically refers to the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to hydroperoxide radicals or oxygen which is catalyzed by transition metal ions such as Fe3+ and Cu2+. Certain Fenton reactions are critical to some biological functions such as breathing, DNA synthesis, metabolism, oxidative stress and aging. These reactions are efficient, self-propelled and produce little toxic waste. It was found that Fenton chemistry is influenced by the binding of metal ions by ligands such as —COO−, —NH3+, —ArOH and —SH (and the oxidized forms) in peptides and proteins. The strength of the ligands, the electronic configuration of the metals, steric effect and ionic strength of the solution affect the reaction kinetics. In other studies, it was found that the metal ions can catalyze the oxidation of some substances even in the absence of hydrogen peroxide. The oxidant is simply the oxygen in the air, and the reaction rate is increased by exposing to light. The above observations are the results of the changes in the redox potential of the metal ions and oxygen under the specific reaction conditions. This invention describes the separation of some biological Fenton and photoreactions into two half cells in order to develop batteries. These batteries are clean and use chemicals that are ample in nature.